SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " affect " 1,848 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
Scientists discover why poor sleep may harm some brains more
A gene involved in the brain’s overnight cleaning system may change how strongly poor sleep affects Alzheimer’s-related brain changes. The findings point toward more personalized prevention strategies based on both genetics and sleep habits.
How Medicaid fraud could affect your tax dollars and health care
Local 12 WKRC-TV is the local station for breaking news, weather forecasts, traffic alerts, community news, Cincinnati Bengals, Reds and FC Cincinnati sports updates, and CBS programming for the Cincinnati , Ohio area, including Avondale, Blue Ash, Bond Hill, Camp Washington, Cheviot, Cleves, Colerain Township, Columbia-Tusculum, Corryville, Norwood, Delhi, East Price Hill, Golf Manor, Hyde Park, Lebanon, Loveland, Lower Price Hill, Madeira, Mariemont, Mount Adams, Mount Airy, Mount Healthy, Mount Lookout, Mount Washington, Oakley, Over-The-Rhine, Reading, Sedamsville, Sharonville, Springdale, St. Bernard, South Cumminsville, Symmes Township, Mason, Hamilton, Union Township, Walnut Hills, West Chester, Wyoming, West Price Hill, Westwood, Winton Hills, Alexandria, Bellevue, Covington, Crescent Springs, Erlanger, Fort Mitchell, Fort Thomas, Fort Wright, Florence, Hebron, Highland Heights, Newport, Southgate, Villa Hills, Walton, Aurora, Greendale, and Lawrenceburg.
3 in 4 small business owners recently used their own credit card for business expenses
Bluevine reports that 75% of small business owners have used personal credit for expenses, highlighting gaps in financial knowledge that affect loan approvals.
Tinder pauses AI tool after it gave some daters an unsolicited makeover
An in-app “Photo Enhance” tool altered some users’ appearances without their permission. Tinder told NBC News that the unintended changes affected a small number of users.
The power plant players unlocking the grid | Investors Lab
History is full of aha moments where an apparent failure was actually the breakthrough people didn't know they needed. Take champagne, discovered when French winemakers kept finding their bottles exploding under pressure. Or sticky notes, developed from a glue that was rejected by leadership at 3M for being too weak, but later redeployed for the purpose we all know and love. Nuclear fusion just experienced another of these serendipitous discoveries. For decades, it wasn't clear how the subatomic particles known as alpha particles would affect the turbulence that drains heat from a reactor's core, preventing the reactor from reaching self-sustaining fusion. Now, new simulations suggest that the particles help. The new research turns what was once viewed as a potential operational hindrance into a critical performance booster. SN's Emily Conover has the info blast.
Lawmakers begin crafting aid package for businesses affected by wildfires
A Democrat and Republican from northeast Minnesota say they’ll be ready with a proposal if the Legislature convenes in a special session.
Xbox outage shouldn’t have affected games on disc, Microsoft confirms
Very reassuring for the future of physical media.
Pennsylvania health insurance providers request steep rate increases for 2027
Health insurance providers in Pennsylvania have requested significant rate increases for 2027, with proposals affecting both individual and small group markets.
Georgia Wellstar Health System cuts hundreds of jobs
Georgia's Wellstar Health System is cutting 761 jobs, amounting to about 2% of its workforce. Officials say the layoffs don't affect its frontline healthcare employees.
Escape Works Denver Reduces Ticket Prices to Make Entertainment More Affordable
As rising costs continue to affect household budgets across the country, EscapeWorks Denver is taking an unexpected approach:…
Will DC hospitals have to give Trump, Konza Health your ER records?
A federal agency is reportedly demanding hospitals to turn over ER records of patients. Could it affect Washington DC-area patients?
New data suggests layoffs will affect 14,259 people by the end of 2026, up 78% from first forecast of the year
"The pace of layoffs is accelerating faster than our models initially predicted"
Mental health help for those affected by Seattle Center mass shooting
In the aftermath of the mass shooting at Seattle Center, people may be feeling a range of emotions that are testing their mental health and sense of safety.
Apple's 2026 and 2027 Mac Roadmap: Every Model and When It Ships
A shortage of memory chips has impacted the entire computer market, affecting Macs and PCs alike. Apple and other companies have raised prices, but Apple is better positioned than its competitors. Machines like the Mac mini and the Mac Studio are in demand for on-device AI agent use, and Apple plans to take advantage by refreshing its Mac lineup across 2026 and 2027.
Update Now: iOS 26.6 and macOS Tahoe 26.6 Patch Hundreds of Security Flaws
Apple today released iOS 26.6, iPadOS 26.6, and macOS Tahoe 26.6, all of which have a long list of security fixes. iOS 26.6 and iPadOS 26.6 address almost 90 security vulnerabilities affecting everything from the App Store to the Neural Engine. Multiple kernel and WebKit vulnerabilities were fixed, along with problems affecting Wi-Fi, Siri, and the iPhone's image processing. Details on all of the fixes can be found in Apple's security support document.
GLP-1s can affect how often some people need to take time off work, study finds
An analysis of employees in Denmark finds that diabetics taking Ozempic had fewer absences from work.
Dementia affecting younger persons strikes Hispanics more than previously thought, UT Health San Antonio-led study shows
Educational disparities contribute to diagnostic delays of frontotemporal dementia Contact: Steven Lee, (210) 450-3823, lees22@uthscsa.edu SAN ANTONIO, July 27, 2026 – A form of dementia that strikes younger people is more common in Hispanics than previously thought, according to a new study led by researchers at UT Health San Antonio, the academic health center of […]
How financial stress can affect the brain over the long term
People who experienced persistent financial struggles were slower to process information and showed memory recall decline by middle age.
Toy company CEO shares how Trump's new round of tariffs could affect business
NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with Jay Foreman of toy importer Basic Fun! about President Trump's latest round of tariffs. The company has paid millions of dollars in import duties under Trump.
Rockstar clarifies which GTA 6 pre-order download codes are going to be region-locked, and how that is going to affect the game in your country
If you plan on pre-ordering GTA 6 on PlayStation 5 at retail, you should be very careful not to get a code that won't work with your account.
‘Game-changing’ spit test could shrink years-long wait for diagnosis of condition that affects 190M women
Trauma and taboos: how Portugal takes care of migrants' mental health
Migration is increasingly essential to Portugal's economy, but the mental health of many new arrivals to the country is affected by the trauma of what they have left behind, long and arduous journeys,…
ADHD looks different in women and poses unique health risks
For decades, ADHD was viewed as a childhood condition that mostly affected boys. Researchers now know ADHD manifests differently in girls, but many still go undiagnosed until adulthood.
Boil-water advisory impacts Algiers businesses and recreation
A boil-water advisory in Algiers is affecting local businesses and recreation centers after water pressure dropped during maintenance at the Algiers water plant.
A program helps Hill Country businesses rebuild all over again
After another round of destructive flooding, LiftFund is offering grants of up to $10,000 to affected small businesses and nonprofits.
Final Fantasy 7 Director Kept 'Open World Fatigue' in Mind as New Remake Chapter Promises 'Bigger' World Than Rebirth
Final Fantasy 7 Revelation director Naoki Hamaguchi has acknowledged the "open world fatigue" affecting the industry but says Square Enix was "very careful" to make sure fans would have "all the guidance they need" in the new remake chapter – even if it's bigger than the last.
CBS affiliate changes impact NFL fans in multiple markets
NFL fans in several U.S. television markets will have to turn to a different channel to watch their games, as CBS and Nexstar announced major changes to the network affiliations of several local stations. The changes will affect fans in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Jackson, Mississippi; Bismarck, North Dakota; Birmingham, Alabama; Greenville, South Carolina; and Rapid…
Sex in space could be trickier than we think. Here's what science says about close encounters between astronauts | BBC Sky at Night Magazine
Sgnificant gaps exist in our understanding of how human reproduction might be affected by the conditions in space.
WATCH: What Happened for Small Businesses During the 2026 Arizona Legislative Session?
Learn what happened in Phoenix during the 2026 legislative session and how it affects your small business.
Ex-NFL Coach Provides Honest Assessment of Ravens’ Lamar Jackson
There have been different opinions on Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson of late, but everyone knows he’s among the best players in the NFL.Last year was an outlier for Jackson since he dealt with so many injuries during the season. That affected his play on the field, finishing with a 63.6% completion percentage for 2,549 […] The post Ex-NFL Coach Provides Honest Assessment of Ravens’ Lamar Jackson appeared first on HEAVY.
NASA programs feel effects of workforce reductions
More than two dozen major NASA projects say they have been affected by the loss of a fifth of NASA’s civil servant workforce in the last year.
Microsoft 365 outage affects Teams, SharePoint and other services
Microsoft Teams and several Microsoft 365 services are experiencing an ongoing outage, with users reporting problems accessing Teams, SharePoint, Excel and the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
When It Comes to Fusion, Materials Matter
Fusion at high temperatures powers the sun and, if harnessed, could provide a potential source of energy here on Earth. But controlling fusion reactions has other benefits. The process also generates subatomic particles called neutrons that are used in a range of applications spanning medicine, research, and national security. Now, scientists at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), and the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have found that the materials surrounding a fusion reaction can dramatically increase how often it occurs, particularly at low energies where fusion is rare. The study was published July 18 in Nature Communications. Their approach sets up a way to study and engineer nuclear reactions within solid materials, opening a new field of “materials-driven fusion.” Instead of designing materials just to survive the harsh conditions of fusion, researchers might be able to design materials that boost the reaction in specific conditions, similar to the way catalysts speed up chemical processes. “It gives you a new knob to turn that you didn’t have before,” said Arun Persaud, head of the Fusion Science & Ion Beam Technology group in Berkeley Lab’s Accelerator Technology & Applied Physics (ATAP) Division. “If we understand this effect better, it opens the door to engineering new materials that would affect the fusion rate under certain conditions. Someday future progress might enable more compact and efficient neutron generators, which have all kinds of applications, like cargo screening, planetary science, and medical therapy and imaging.” In the experiment, researchers used two different methods to pack deuterium, a heavy form of hydrogen atoms that is often used in fusion, into thin foils of palladium and titanium. They then fired a beam of deuterium ions at the foils at different energies and measured how often fusion happened. Then they compared the rates from the different materials and methods with the “bare” fusion reaction (not in a material). The team found that fusion rates depended on how the deuterium was loaded into the metal foils. The biggest effect was at the lowest energies, below 2.5 kiloelectronvolts (keV), where theory predicts fusion rates drop off sharply. Instead, researchers found a surprising plateau: Some samples showed elevated fusion rates roughly a quintillion times higher than bare fusion reactions. (A quintillion is a 1 followed by 18 zeroes.) Researchers are not exactly sure why that’s happening, though they have some ideas and ways to test them. The electrons and defects within the material might partially shield repulsive electrostatic forces between deuterium nuclei, making it easier for them to get close together and fuse. Tuning the electronic structure, defects, and composition of materials could help make nuclear reactions happen more readily. “It comes down to better understanding the mechanism so that we can try to enhance it,” said corresponding author Jeremy Munday, a professor at UC Davis. “We’ve seen that we can increase fusion rates, but what is the limit? Can we bring it to lower temperatures or energies? There’s obviously a lot of interest and excitement about fusion, so if there’s something we can learn about the physics at these lower energy scales, maybe there’s something we can translate to other areas of nuclear science.” The team plans to explore a wider range of materials and continue probing the unexpected fusion plateau at lower energies. Their work establishes a reproducible experimental platform to study how solid materials influence nuclear reactions, creating a new area of research that links fusion science with materials science and chemistry. “The work shows conclusively that the material environment where fusion occurs at low temperatures is an active participant rather than a passive container,” said Cameron Geddes, director of ATAP. “That adds a new dimension to fusion research.” This work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). ### Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is committed to groundbreaking research focused on discovery science and solutions for abundant and reliable energy supplies. The lab’s expertise spans materials, chemistry, physics, biology, earth and environmental science, mathematics, and computing. Researchers from around the world rely on the lab’s world-class scientific facilities for their own pioneering research. Founded in 1931 on the belief that the biggest problems are best addressed by teams, Berkeley Lab and its scientists have been recognized with 17 Nobel Prizes. Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.
Firms Gain Advantage by Treating Hiring as a Business Decision
Businesses need both in-house and outside counsel who understand how employment decisions affect competitive advantage and help them build their talent strategy, says Stinson’s Dawn Valdivia.
EasyJet profits plunge 70% as fuel costs soar amid Iran war
Budget airline, which has two US investment firms vying to buy it, also affected by passengers booking later
Reduced rail service hitting trade, businesses warn
Business leaders say Sheffield to London train services are "critical", with trade already affected.
What does Cincinnati's emergency declaration mean for residents, business owners?
Cincinnati is transitioning from emergency response to recovery after two rounds of flooding prompted the mayor to declare a state of emergency to provide financial relief to affected homeowners and businesses.
Reducing muscle protein activity strengthens bone health, study suggests
Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), or "brittle bone disorder," is a connective tissue disorder that affects collagen, a protein that makes up much of the body's structure. There are more than 10 different ...
Government Contracting Surges, But Not for All
New report reveals federal small business contracting meets targets amid policy shifts. Discover mixed results and procurement changes affecting contractors.
Tim Tebow ESPN contract extension announced amid sweeping layoffs
Tim Tebow's multi-year contract extension with ESPN comes as the company experiences another round of layoffs, affecting several high-profile names.
4 Common Medications That Can Mess With Your Gut Health
Some medications may disrupt the good bacteria in your gut, potentially affecting your digestive and overall health.
St. Pete Beach parking: Business owners say higher rates drive customers away
Higher parking rates at St. Pete Beach are drawing criticism from local business owners who say the increased costs are keeping visitors away. One owner has launched an online petition urging city leaders to revisit the parking policy before more businesses are affected.
Critical wp2shell WordPress flaws exploited to install webshells
Hackers are exploiting the "wp2shell" critical vulnerability suite (CVE-2026-63030 and CVE-2026-60137) affecting WordPress Core to deploy persistent webshells and install malicious plugins on affected servers.
Automated Neurofeedback: Rewiring the Future of Mental Health Care
Mental health and addiction disorders continue to rise across the United States, affecting veterans, adolescents, families, first responders, and entire communities. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, nearly half of individuals with a substance use disorder also experience a co-occurring mental health condition. At the same time, healthcare systems are struggling with workforce ...
How the feds' healthcare grants could affect Idaho education: Three examples
Idaho has $186 million in federal rural grants to parcel out by the end of October. Workforce development is a “huge part” of the mix, Department of Health and Welfare Director Juliet Charron told EdNews in a recent interview.
Health officials share tips as wildfire smoke affects Central Oregon
Wildfire smoke is affecting air quality in Central Oregon and may pose health risks to the public. Public health officials from Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties are encouraging residents and vi
Gainesville group discusses local politics, upcoming primary at brewery meeting
‘Gainesville Is for People’ reviewed a recent candidate forum and talked issues affecting the city
Gainesville group discusses local politics, upcoming primary at brewery meeting
‘Gainesville Is for People’ reviewed a recent candidate forum and talked issues affecting the city
Health response brings lifesaving care closer to thousands in Yemen
Thousands of people in some of Yemen's most conflict-affected communities are receiving lifesaving health care closer to home, thanks to funding from the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) through the Yemen Humanitarian Fund.
Broadcom’s AI Mix Shift: How AVGO’s Booming AI Chip Business Changes the Investment Thesis
The AI sell-off extended on Friday and affected stock markets around the world. Oil prices remained volatile amid the U.S.-Iran tensions. Chip stocks, in particular, took the largest hit after a poor week. There is skepticism that AI chip prices are too high and that demand for computer memory and processors would be unsustainable if […]
Summer Health Facts vs. Myths: Swimmer’s Ear, Ticks, More
Dr. Jen Caudle, family physician and associate professor at Rowan University, joins TODAY to separate fact from fiction on common summer health myths like Seasonal Affective Disorder, swimmer’s ear, mosquito bites and more.
Gears of War Designer Cliff Bleszinski Reveals Struggle With Alcoholism, Discusses the Failure of LawBreakers and Potential Return to Video Game Development
Video game developer Cliff Bleszinski has revealed his struggle with alcoholism and how it affected not just his work on Gears of War but contributed to the failure of hero shooter LawBreakers and his studio, Boss Key Productions.
Paris farmer sees business boost amid Kentucky cyclosporasis outbreak
A cyclosporasis outbreak affecting nearly 200 people across Kentucky, including more than a dozen combined cases in Fayette and Madison counties, is prompting some consumers to bypass major retailers and buy produce directly from local farms.
AI may predict harmful chemical exposures affecting human health
Artificial intelligence is rapidly improving scientists' ability to detect chemicals in the environment and human body.
What does resilience show about healthy aging after trauma?
A landmark study that started in 2021 to learn about wartime trauma among Vietnamese Americans has received an additional $13.3 in funding to delve deeper into how trauma affects aging and brain health.
How eczema and acne can affect your mental health
Scientists are uncovering a complex communication network linking the skin, immune system, and brain—one that could transform how chronic skin disease and mental health are treated.
Health experts warn about uptick in the emergency room with poor air quality
Health experts in southeastern Wisconsin report a surge in emergency room visits for respiratory issues as wildfire smoke continues to affect air quality.
Fantasy Analyst Assesses Malik Nabers' Viability in 2026
Malik Nabers is on his way back from an injury, which could affect the New York Giants and fantasy football managers. Nabers was an elite wideout in his rookie season, setting a Giants single-season franchise record for catches (109).
Second person dies in Legionnaires’ disease outbreak on Upper East Side
So far, 72 people have been affected by the outbreak, with 50 of them needing hospitalization. Nine remain hospitalized.
Does summer actually make your hair grow faster?
Probably not, but it might affect beard growth.
WordPress Core "wp2shell" RCE flaws get public exploits, patch now
Public exploits have been released for the critical "wp2shell" remote code execution vulnerabilities affecting WordPress Core, making it imperative that administrators patch their sites immediately.
Disco Elysium Dev ZA/UM Announces Layoffs Affecting Up to 32 Staff
Disco Elysium developer ZA/UM has announced layoffs affecting up to 32 staff just two months after launching Zero Parades: For Dead Spies.
Louisiana restaurants, grocers respond to outbreak linked to contaminated lettuce
The food-borne parasitic outbreak that can cause extreme diarrhea and has affected several U.S. states, including Louisiana, is creating headaches for owners of local restaurants and supermarkets.
Abbott investigates two separate cyber incidents, says no operations affected
Abbott Laboratories is investigating two cyber incidents involving unauthorized access to some internal systems at its cancer diagnostics business and its LabCentral portal, the company said on Friday, adding that its operations were not affected.
Taylor Farms pulls lettuce tied to cyclospora outbreak
Taylor Farms said it's removing iceberg lettuce from Mexico due to the cyclospora outbreak, which has affected at least 1,644 people across 34 states.
How Wildfire Smoke Affects Your Health
NC State professor Jennifer Richmond-Bryant explains how wildfire smoke affects health, why risks vary and what communities can do to prepare.
Chinese scientists have bad news on having babies in space
Researchers use China’s Tianzhou spacecraft missions since 2017 to study how microgravity and space radiation can affect biology.
Wildfire smoke poses health risk to animals
Wildfire smoke can create health issues for pets the same way it affects people, according to a local veterinarian — particularly for animals with underlying conditions.
Turbulent national politics come to Maine
Learn about the most important issues facing Massachusetts from the people in charge and the people most affected.
Politics: What Changing Political Tides Mean For Gaza
Israel is expanding its command of Gaza and now controls almost 70 percent of the tiny enclave that’s home to more than two million people.More than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas nearly a year ago. Some 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in total since Israel’s military offensive began after Hamas fighters killed 1,200 people on Oct. 7, 2023. Meanwhile, dozens of aid groups have been barred from operating in Gaza.Almost every Gazan is dealing with hunger, with 77 percent of the population facing high levels of food insecurity, according to the World Food Programme.So, what do these shifting lines of control mean for those in need? And how could changing political tides affect the situation?Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.
Trump's address may focus on the 2020 election. Here’s what to know about foreign interference, voting security
President Donald Trump is set to address the nation July 16 with an expected primetime focus on election integrity. Reports from intelligence experts show that the 2020 election was secure and foreign governments’ attempts at interference did not affect voting.
Trump officials want to make testosterone drugs easier to prescribe. Is that a good idea?
Officials under President Donald Trump want to make it easier for men to get a prescription for testosterone, the latest shift in a decades-long debate over the benefits and risks of replacing the hormone that affects sex drive, mood and other health factors.
How wildfire smoke affects air quality and your health
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Thursday, MPR News guest host Kelly Gordon talks about how air quality is monitored and forecast and the health risks of breathing wildfire smoke.
Galaxy S26 Ultra’s red screen stain is a software issue, not OLED burn-in
Earlier this week, we reported that some Galaxy S26 Ultra units displayed a rectangular red stain in the center of their screens. Users affected by the issue we
Hegseth touts a high-testosterone military, as doctors question his claims
The defense secretary said the Pentagon will test the testosterone levels of troops 30 and over. It was unclear if the plan would affect women or military fitness rules.
The science behind Massachusetts' wildfire smoke-darkened skies
You’ve seen the smoky skies and hazy sunsets in Mass. caused by wildfires in Canada. Here’s the science behind it, and how it can affect your health.
Airlines, health experts warn against permanent daylight saving time
Airlines for America warns that permanent daylight saving time could significantly disrupt aviation, affecting passenger travel and international connectivity on ‘America Reports.’
How Does Air Quality Affect Our Health?
Our experts explain the impact of air quality on health and how to best protect ourselves.
How will the bipartisan housing bill affect the affordability crisis?
The bill became law even though President Donald Trump didn’t sign it
Can a state be ‘best for business’ while restricting abortion?
Business advocates say reproductive rights are a workforce issue, arguing that state rankings fail to capture how abortion restrictions affect employees.
SBA loans available for residents, businesses hit by April storms
Wisconsinites affected by severe April storms are now encouraged to apply for disaster loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration.
How weight, diet and lifestyles are affecting women’s hormonal health - Baylor College of Medicine Blog Network
Dr. Mona Romezi explains how weight, diet and lifestyle affects women's hormonal health and how to balance those hormones.
47 revelatory hours with Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced
To review this month’s supposed remake of 2013’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, I must first correct the record. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced isn’t a game about pirates (and assassins) in the 18th century Caribbean. Sure, sure, that’s what the trailers would have you believe. They’ve go their clips of Edward Kenway swinging his swords and steering his pirate ship into cannon-blasting combat against British frigates. Is Resynced truly a pirate game? Of the 47 hours I spent playing Resynced over the past few weeks, I will admit I spent maybe 44 (?) of them collecting plunder with Blackbeard, drinking rum with Anne Bonny and debating the pros and cons of the lawless pirate-run settlement Nassau with Benjamin Hornigold. I may in fact have spent dozens of hours sailing to remote islands, reading treasure maps, opening messages left in bottles, sinking the odd Man o’ War with a well-timed broadside, collecting sea shanties for my crew, befriending a pet monkey, and hunting whales. I am nevertheless neither so Gullible nor so Narrow-Minded as to call the magnificent Resynced a “pirate remake.” Oh no. Forget any reviews of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced you may have read. Forget what you yourself may have played, if you’ve spent any time with the game since its launch. What Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is really about I’m here to give you the scoop (spoilers for Resynced’s Animus menu lore, which many players are probably not going to see): Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, the new game whose development was led by Ubisoft Singapore, is set in the year 2096. It’s about a societal split, about revolution, about an old Assassin’s Creed adventure repurposed in the series’ distant future as propaganda or samizdat. It’s about the overheated future of 2096, essentially conquered by the series’ well-established nefarious Templar-run company Abstergo. (In this future, Abstergo is, among other things, remaking a 2013 pirate movie called Devils of the Caribbean, but this time in VR. The VR version will be backed by a marketing plan that involves AI influencers, a 10,000-avatar “metaverse premiere event” and that manufacturing of memes aimed at “50 million VR nodes.” See what I mean about Abstergo being evil?) Resynced is about a late 21st-century population mollified by the widespread use of Abstergo’s Animus devices which let people experience the lives of historical figures culled from “genetic memories.” It’s about an insurgent faction of Assassins. And it’s about a plan to wake the population into revolutionary fervor by showing them the memories of 18th century pirate Edward Kenway, who—as depicted in the original Black Flag and again in Resynced—gradually comes to an understanding about the Assassins of his day and their centuries old fight for freedom. Resynced is also about an AI developed within the late 21st-century Animus, called Ego. It has found a way to alter genetic memories, to create and show Animus users false ones. The game is about Ego’s efforts to tell the people experiencing Edward Kenway’s memories that Kenway was wrong, that fighting against order is folly, that we should crave a world where “compliance is rewarded with power.” Who are we in this game? We’re an unnamed Animus user in 2096 who experiences Kenway’s journey virtually. At four moments during Kenway’s exploits in the Caribbean our virtual jaunt can be interrupted for 10-15 minutes, as we explore Animus “rifts” where Ego explicitly tries to tell us how wrong Kenway was. None of this is what 2013’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag was about, of course. That was a different game, even if you also spent dozens of hours pirating as Kenway in that game, across missions and a map that’s been faithfully reintroduced and rebuilt for Resynced. The 2013 Black Flag was about you playing as an unnamed researcher newly hired in 2013 by Abstergo Entertainment, the video game development wing of the Templars’ evil-corp. In that game, you were assigned to use the Animus to dive into the genetic memories of Desmond Miles, a man who died in Assassin’s Creed III and who was descended from a long line of Assassins (and at least one Templar) whose adventures were featured across the prior AC games. In 2013’s Black Flag, your mission was to plumb the Edward Kenway experience for material that Abstergo could use in productions such as the motion picture Devils of the Caribbean, though the Templars had some ulterior motives for the assignment. Resynced is therefore not a remake of 2013’s Black Flag. It’s a sequel. It is a new game about a new exploration of Edward Kenway’s pirate/assassin journey, set 83 years after the framing sequences of the original game. Resynced provides a new narrative framework that, thanks to the concept of an AI that wants to alter historical memories, arrives with creative justification to tweak a now-classic 13-year old game. That makes Resynced, already a hot seller, a tantalizing hint of where Ubisoft could go with a line of Assassin’s Creed remakes. They could remake the first game, the Ezio games, even the recent ones set in ancient Egypt and Greece. And for each, they could not just modernize the graphics and controls but expand and alter their sequences of events to use them as reference points for a conflict set in the late 21st century, as rival factions try to weaponize historical memories. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, even when that work consists of ravings about Assassin’s Creed’s modern day plot, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe A story most players will probably miss If you didn’t know any of this, I’m not surprised. If you played the game and still didn’t catch it, I’m not a bit shocked. If Ubisoft has no plans to do more of this, I won’t fall down. Almost all of what I’ve described is optional and missable in Black Flag Resynced. I nearly missed it myself, as I planned for a breezy playthrough of an old Assassin’s Creed favorite. Instead, I found myself in a 40+ hour hunt for the “real” story, buried deeper in Resynced than any gold-filled chest. The story of 2096 is Resynced’s meta-story, told in two remote pockets of the game: 1) four optional playable “rifts” that players may find as they proceed through Resynced’s pirate fantasy , 2) in dozens of text files tucked three menus deep in the game’s barely-interactive Animus hub. Assassin’s Creed games have almost always had a meta-story about people in the 21st century (usually matching the game’s release year) and their connections to the main history portions you play. Those meta-stories have always been squeezed into the margins, though seldom as severely and as, uh, graphiaclly simple, as in recent games. Back in 2013, the modern-day exploits of you as an Abstergo Entertainment employee were prominent. They were portrayed via first-person portions that occasionally interrupted the third-person Kenway experience and could be explored for hours, complete with their own missions, side quests and puzzles. Resynced’s 2096 story—of Assassin “Watchers” vs. Abstergo/Tempar goons, of rogue AIs, of panicking scientists, of a woman wondering why her Animus-addicted husband is muttering about Mary Read (“What does he mean by Assassins?”), of a fight for the population’s hearts and minds via varying interpretations of Edward Kenway’s life choices—is mostly told through unlockable text files. The files are interesting. Offered via diary entries, intercepted chats and news reports, they present varied perspectives of a world in crisis. One set works as a narrative puzzle as it reveals the Rashomonic interpretations of a massacre, or was that a successful Assassin hit? Another favorite reveals the rising bitterness of a person who, through Edward Kenway’s journey, now shakes at the ignored evil around him. One surmises that Ubisoft is averse to putting the Assassin’s Creed’s meta-story in the way of more marketable pirate playgrounds and ninja/samurai epics. Instead, we get a better-than-nothing text-in-menus approach introduced in 2025’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows. In Shadows, players unlocked the meta-story text files largely via time-gated missions that called on the user to kill X number of enemy type Y, clear three enemy castles, re-win a three-phase fighting tournament, and other grinds. Time restrictions on accessing these missions and unlocking the files meant it could take players months to access the full story in-game. But even in the most hardcore Assassin’s Creed hangouts, the fanbase instead seemed to throw up their hands rather than grind to keep up. In Resynced, Ubisoft has shown some mercy, diminishing the amount of new text files that are tied to timed grinds. Now, most of the text-based 2096 lore are associated with “data file” collectibles that players can find in the world. That includes a batch of written entries that explain a historical link between the feudal Japan era in Shadows and the piracy adventures in Black Flag. Players who explore a lot will find dozens of data files, though the game does not appear to offer any in-game tracker for finding each one. You just need to keep looking for them. As of this writing, I have most of them, but not all. I can’t find any full guide for them online. And even Ubisoft’s optional $5 microtransaction that reveals lots of items in-game does not appear to reveal the locations of the text files (at least the official description omits them from its collectibles list). That’s not a huge bother, because tracking the data files down compelled me to re-explore the waves and islands of Black Flag. That was a thoroughly pleasant task to do for the first time in a dozen years. I expect many players, though, will be content to wait for the files to be reproduced in an online AC wiki somewhere, the easier to read on a web page. It may not seem enticing to play a video game in order to gradually unlock pages of text to read. Why not, you may ask, just read a book, where they put the pages in order? For one, they’ve not tucked this latest installment of Assassin’s Creed’s meta saga in a book. I also enjoy the unordered delivery, the dawning comprehension of a story about 2096’s desperate people and questionable tech, which I glimpsed first at its middle, then the end, then the front, then other moments in between1. I am also enamored with the idea of the Assassin’s Creed games I’ve previously played, including Black Flag, being repurposed for an information war. The ideas in Resynced’s meta-story, which builds off characters and ideas in Shadows’ chunks of text, are strong. The potential of where they could go with it is exciting. As for the pirate stuff? Looks great, controls pretty well, is fun to play and oh so speedy in terms of how much of a good time you can have with each sit-down. It never gets old to chase a new shanty page across a rooftop, bombard a fort with upgraded mortars or use a diving bell to explore sunken wrecks (hats off to the team at Ubisoft Barcelona that worked on the underwater portions in Resynced; that team is now facing layoffs, such is the misery of modern gaming and oft-troubled Ubisoft). New pirate missions in Resynced involving new ally characters are brief, dramatic and add more to Edward’s story, even if the gameplay perks they provide barely enhance the gameplay. A new denouement for high-class pirate Stede Bonnet is affecting; a new hunt for Blackbeard’s treasure is a welcome extra moment. A new epilogue to hunt down a pirate killer, on the other hand, over-complicates Kenway’s character. The ending credits remain my favorite of any game I’ve ever played. Black Flag provides great source material. The revisit is well-made and a great sign of what could be. It is offered in a different wrapper that hints at an opportunity for more interesting remakes to come, should Ubisoft choose to pursue such treasures—and as we brace to resist or comply with an Abstergo future. 1 The messages that Edward Kenway finds in bottles tell another out-of-order story, one about a man reckoning with the strange memories and voices he’s heard in his head since he was a boy. That tale was also in the 2013 game and develops into one of Black Flag’s most compelling character arcs. In Resynced, it has lost its climax, because the bottle story previously paid off in the halls of the first-person Abstergo Entertainment, which is exclusive to the older game. An altered resolution, written by the 2013 game’s lead writer is fine, doesn’t invalidate the 2013 version, but makes for an inferior final note.
Home cooks should stop using recalled gas range immediately, US says
The recalled Insignia Front Control Gas Ranges can be activated by accidental contact with knobs, affecting 3,820 units sold across the U.S.
Mountain Brook passes home business ordinance after more than a year of debate
Mountain Brook passed an ordinance limiting home-based client businesses, giving affected owners a year to comply or close.
'It affects your daily life suddenly': Sea level researcher explains why once-in-a-century floods could become the new normal
Live Science spoke with sea level expert Sönke Dangendorf about how human-caused sea-level rise is increasing extreme water levels, as once-in-a-century flooding events become decadal.
Soccer, not just American football, may affect long-term brain health, study suggests
As the World Cup nears its final, a new study raises questions about whether long-term soccer head impacts could affect brain health.
Group of 11 athletes challenge new NCAA eligibility rules in suit
Eleven Division I athletes -- all who depleted their eligibility in the 2025-26 season, have filed a federal class action lawsuit alleging that the NCAA's new eligibility rules adversely affected their ability to extend their college careers.
A heart for health
Albany High retiree Mary Kelly has a heart for health that expands beyond her professional responsibilities. Not only did she serve the City School District of Albany for over 23 years as a nurse, she also has been a faithful supporter of our food pantry here at Albany High! Since June 2022, Kelly has given a monthly donation to the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York specifically designated for Albany High. Thanks to Kelly and other individual donors and partner organizations, our students and their families can have access to nutritious food, free of cost at the Falcon Market. As someone who raised three boys, she knows how hard it can be to keep one’s shelves stocked at home. “I remember when they would sit down, three teenagers, eating a box of cereal a piece as a snack,” Kelly reminisced with a laugh. “Who can afford that nowadays?” Known affectionately as Nurse Kelly throughout her career in the district, she served our students at the elementary, middle and high school levels, and was stationed at Albany High from 2019 until her retirement. By caring for students day in and day out, Kelly was keenly aware of the negative impact of food insecurity on the lives of young people. This is what motivated her to take a proactive step towards improving access to nutritious food for our students and families. Kelly’s generosity is a way to carry on the memory of her youngest son, who passed away in 2019. “The kindnesses that I do are always in his memory,” Kelly shared. On behalf of our Albany High staff, students and families, we thank Nurse Kelly for her incredible support and wish her all the best during her retirement. For more information about how to support the Falcon Market with in-kind or financial donations, please contact Joey DiPiazza at jdipiazza@albany.k12.ny.us.
Colorado Updates Requirements for Consumer- and Business-Facing Automatically Renewing Contracts
In 2026, Colorado revised its law on automatically renewing contracts affecting Colorado residents and businesses to cover both businesses and individuals who seek or acquire, by purchase or lease, any goods, services, money, or credit.
New York construction scare puts business interruption coverage to the test
Midtown evacuation exposes coverage questions for affected businesses, warns Crawford & Company claims expert
When regulation is good for business
By now, I think I have established both my view that I am a fan of ESG investing and the benefits of regulating what is and isn’t a sustainable investment, and my view that in Europe, ESG regulation has gone too far and become too costly. It almost feels like the old Aristotelian maxim of doing things in moderation that leads to the best outcomes is valid in regulatory efforts as well. To give you an example, let’s look at a study by the National Bank of Belgium on the impact of the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) on fund flows of conventional and ESG funds. The SFDR was announced on 27 November 2019 and came into effect on 10 March 2021. It was implemented in several stages and split funds marketed in the EU into three broad categories: (i) Art. 6 funds that are basically conventional funds without any specific ESG integration, (ii) Art. 8 funds that ‘promote environmental or social characteristics’, which must provide additional reporting how they do that, and (iii) Art. 9 funds that are impact funds. The gaps between the announcement and the phased implementation give us an idea of how fund flows were affected by the regulation. It is clearly visible in the figure below that once the new regulation was announced and when it was initially implemented, fund flows in Art. 8 and Art. 9 funds increased significantly. Conventional Art. 6 funds also saw more inflows, but the increase was not statistically significant. I should add that the data below is pure fund flow, cleaned of performance effects and of any reclassified funds that moved from one classification to another. Note also that once the initial rush in ESG funds was over, additional, stricter regulatory requirements didn’t create that many new flows. This implies that with additional regulation, the funds incurred higher costs to comply but didn’t benefit in terms of new inflows and higher assets under management. Fund flows as the SFDR regulation was implemented in the EU Source: Emiris et al. (2026) When examining the drivers of these flows, the authors of the study found that institutional investors were more likely to switch to ESG funds and particularly so in countries where concerns about sustainability are culturally more accepted. In a society where buy-in into environmental and social risks is higher, private investors were shifting more of their assets into ESG funds as the regulation made it clear which funds are really green and which ones are not. And institutional investors in these countries did so as well, given the societal pressures and reputational risks of sticking with conventional funds. Meanwhile, fund managers reacted to the changing regulatory environment as well. Many funds that were mildly green before the regulation was announced became greener and more sustainable as the regulation was introduced to attract new assets and new investors. Cleverly, and unsurprisingly, these ESG funds also charge on average higher fees, which means that not only did fund managers gather fresh assets, but their profitability increased as well.
Steering hurricanes? Scientists mull controversial plan to affect weather patterns
A new study appearing in the peer-reviewed science journal PLOS Water on June 24 suggests that could eventually allow humans to steer disasters.
Legionnaires’ Disease outbreak widens on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Guggenheim among sites affected
The museum’s cooling tower is among 31 that have tested positive for Legionella bacteria, which can thrive in water systems.
NVIDIA GPU Hotspot Temperature Has Been Unlocked Through Mods, & Shows Widespread Thermal Issues Affecting RTX 50 GPUs That Throttle Gaming Performance
Mods have unlocked NVIDIA's GPU Hotspot measurement, which can give you a clue why your latest card is running at lower performance.
‘Spermageddon’: is the world facing a male reproductive crisis?
Reports of falling sperm counts and testosterone levels have fuelled fears over chemicals, pollution and modern lifestyles. But how much do scientists agree on what is affecting male fertility?
Joe Klein: At 80, Here’s What I’ve Learned About Politics—and Life
I am 80 years old, this year of our 250th anniversary, and I find myself a cliché. My life has been a common political journey, from left to center. I recently took the Pew Research Center’s “political typology” test and found that I was a “pragmatic and polite conservative,” which seemed a rather abstruse basket: A politically mixed (though Republican-tilting) group, they lean conservative on economics and the role of government, while tilting more liberal on issues related to race and foreign policy. They prize civility and cooperation in politics. Well, that sounds pretty mushy—and I find it hard to square with the strong opinions I have on many issues. I’ve voted for Democrats in federal elections, but I grow more Republican the closer I get to local politics. Democrats, I’ve found, simply aren’t very good at running things, especially school systems, where they are in the thrall of the teachers unions. My friends joke about my obsession with the unions. They know all my lines. If industrial unions are organized against the power of capital, who are the public employees organized against? But enough of that. I’ve ranted that rant too often, and my political journey has been more complicated than that one issue. It has been empirical, based on actual experience—on a lifetime of reporting and a lot of reading. An early example: I was a journalist with the underground press in Boston at the turn of the 1970s and considered myself a member of the antiwar and civil rights movements. The first big issue I covered was busing to achieve school integration. Yes, the white bigots were disgusting. But I couldn’t find any black parents who favored the plan to bus their children to schools outside their neighborhoods either. Black activists and politicians—and white liberals—were gung ho, but not actual parents of black kids in school. Busing was a form of social engineering imposed from on high, by a judge—W. Arthur Garrity—who lived in a wealthy liberal suburb. Wealthy liberal suburbs were not affected by his plan, of course. I began to see that there were limits to what government could do, especially when it came to changing a society’s culture.
Firmware update bricks Hue Bridge Pro devices; Philips gives free replacements
Affected users will have to configure their lights and settings all over again.
How could laxer radiation exposure rules affect public health?
A proposed rule change could expose more Americans to higher doses of radiation from nuclear facilities
"They want us to accept this as a done deal and quietly disappear" – Bethesda union members organise protest in response to Xbox layoffs
440 OneBGS devs were affected by cuts at Bethesda Game Studios, Id Software, and ZeniMax Online Studios